


Money Troubles

by KasSgr4y



Category: CrankGameplays - Fandom, ethan nestor - Fandom, mark fischbach - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Amy Nelson - Freeform, CrankGameplays - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ethan Nestor Needs a Hug, Homelessness, How Do I Tag, Hurt Ethan Nestor, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Mark Fischback/Ethan Nestor Platonic, Markiplier - Freeform, Oblivious Mark Fischbach, Panic Attacks, Protective Mark Fischbach, References to Depression, Sean McLoughlin - Freeform, Trust Issues, crankiplier platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 15:34:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30023931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KasSgr4y/pseuds/KasSgr4y
Summary: Ethan gets himself into a spot of financial issues right before Christmas. He tries to hide it from Mark. That will never end well.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Money Troubles

**A/N**

**I don’t know how bills work in America, nor do I know how YouTube payments work so just go with it okay. Im trying my best.**

Ethan Gasped in shock when he opened the envelope. His bill from the hospital had just come in and it wasn’t cheap.

“$4,000!” He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. Money hadn’t exactly been flowing in for the last few months, the only thing that was actually keeping him afloat was The Unus Annus videos and editing with mark. He’d been so focused with the duo channel that he had found himself with no spare time to film for his own channel. Consequently, the income he got from it had also dropped.

He sighed, placing the statement on the kitchen counter before going to grab his car keys. Thank god it almost the end of the month. He thought, hope flowering in his chest. The end of the month meant pay checks from mark. And pay checks from mark meant hospital, food and rental bills could be paid. 

Ethan stepped out of his house and into the crisp morning air, heading straight for his car. He reached his car and gets inside, immediately putting the heating on and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His recent lack of sleeping was starting to get to him. All the stress from trying to keep his channel afloat was starting to ware on his mind but he refused to let anyone know, instead, he swallowed it down with a lump of salt. The drive to marks was slow and quiet. The normal amount of excitement that he would normally feel before filming a video with mark was all but gone. In fact, he was practically dreading it.

He pulled into marks driveway but made no move to leave his car for at least 5 minutes. He sighed, eventually collecting himself and leaving his car. Mark greeted him with his usual amount of enthusiasm as he opened the door. Note the sarcasm

“You ready to film?” not even a hello this morning. Okay. Ethan plastered a smile on his face and faked a burst of energy, making Mark laugh. Oh boy, this was gonna be a long day.

It was around 7PM when they wrapped up filming from the day. Ethan was exhausted and all he wanted to do was go home and cuddle with Spencer, but Mark had other ideas.

“Eth? Can you come sit for a second?” Marks tone was deadly serious making Ethan slightly nervous. _Had he done something wrong? Who was he kidding, he was always doing something wrong_ he thought bitterly. Nevertheless he slowly made his way over to the couch, his backpack gripped firmly in his hands. Mark gestured from him to sit opposite him and he obliged.

“So, I know its near the end of the month and your pay is due” he paused, looking Ethan in the eyes. “But, Unus Annus needs some extra funding for next month so we’ve decided to cut both of our pay checks for this month in order to fun the channel.” He finishes.

Ethan looks at him in shock. His heart caught in his throat. Worry seeped into his veins but he pushed it down, unwilling to show mark just how much he needed the money.

“o-oh? Um…okay. That fine I guess” He wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “What about you- do you need the money this month?” he asked hesitantly, worried that Mark could also be facing financial difficulties.

“No. I doubt even 4 months of missed pay checks would make that much difference to me”…apparently not. A pit formed in the bottom of his stomach from the way Mark had said that. It made Ethan feel guilty and annoying. The very concept of asking Mark not to cut his pay was gone. Instead, he simply nodded, forcing himself to not look like he was about to break down. He stood up to leave but Mark caught his arm. “You forgot the memory cards.” He handed Ethan the cards with the footage from that day on them. Ethan gave him a forced lopsided smile before stuffing the cards into his backpack and heading out the door, barely looking back at Mark or Amy.

He barely remembered getting home but he somehow found himself standing in his kitchen, staring blankly at the hospital statement. Tears built up in his eyes as he reached for his check book. Rent was due in 4 days. It’s not like he couldn’t pay it… he could, he just wouldn’t be able to afford his usual food intake for the month, or the weekly pizza night with mark, or his gym membership, or next month’s rent (because, for some reason, he pays his rent before he gets paid), or new EpiPens. The last one worried him. His EpiPens expired in a few days and without them, one slip up could cost him his life. He tore off a check slip and grabbed a pen. Tears slipped down his checks as he fumbled with the pen to write the digits.

The next morning, Ethan dragged himself out of his bed before 5AM. He hadn’t been able to edit Marks videos the night before because he had been too busy sorting out his finances. He made his way to his living room to find Spencer lying comfortably on one of the sofas. The little dog noticed his best friend almost immediately and started wagging his tail, rolling over onto his back. Ethan let out a small giggle before tickling Spencer’s stomach a few times. He made his way through into the kitchen, spencer’s paws padding on the wood behind him and grabbed Spencer’s food, giving the dog his breakfast before searching through the cabinets from something for himself to eat. There wasn’t much; some tins of porridge, a box of cereal, some fruit that would probably go bad in a couple of days. He sighed, for what felt life the millionth time that weekend. He needed to save the food that would keep to make it through the month without starving. Reluctantly he grabbed an apple, taking a bite and grimacing at the sour taste…yup definitely gone bad. He swallowed down the rest of the apple and grabbed Spencer’s lead, clipping it onto the excited dogs collar. The two left the house, stepping into the morning darkness.

By 6:30AM, Ethan found himself sitting at his desk, focusing intently on lining up the audio with the video. He had begun working on the first of the video almost as soon as he had gotten home from the walk. He hadn’t even taken a shower first which was proving to be a bad decision seeing as it was the middle of winter and he hadn’t taken a coat with him when he was walking Spencer, so now he was practically freezing. He coughed into the arm of his sweatshirt, feeling a small headache coming on. He groaned, tearing his attention away from the now finished video before standing up, shivering slightly, and making his way to the bathroom to try and warm up.

It was nearly 8AM when Ethan surfaced from the bathroom, his hair dripping wet from his shower. He glanced at the time, slightly taken back by the amount of time he had spent in the bathroom. Mark wanted to meet him at 8:30 for an early start on the videos. He groaned, which turned into a slight coughing fit. Slowly, he made his way to his closet and picked out an outfit for the day. A simple pair of black jeans, a white T-shirt and his black Unus Annus Sweatshirt. He glanced in his mirror for a couple of seconds, his eyes trailing over his lean body, before he tore his glance away and headed for the door, grabbing his backpack and laptop on the way.

It was 8:43 when Ethan arrived at Marks door. He hesitated slightly before knocking on the older man’s door. Mark responded almost immediately, ushering the smaller boy into his house.

“Your late” he stated, watching Ethan carefully as the boy took off his shoes and placed his backpack down. He seemed to be shaking, or shivering, Mark couldn’t tell which it was but either way he was worried. “You alright man?”

“yeah, sorry, kinda lost track of time. Spencer wouldn’t come back after the walk.” He lied easily, looking mark in the eye and giving him one of his signature smiles. Any worry that Mark might have been feeling quickly dissipated and he forgot all about the boys shaking. The two settled into the kitchen for the first video of the day.

The first video went by relatively well. And Ethan was actually having fun and forgetting all about his troubles. Until mark told him about the next video idea. The two would be doing an escape room. Ethan was actually excited about it when mark had said it…until Mark mentioned that they would each be paying for their separate tickets. Normally, on any other month, Ethan would have been completely fine with this but this month was different. Any wastage of money could mean that he would be going hungry for a week, or, if it was a large enough amount of money, he could lose his heating. And in winter, that could be dangerous. Regardless, he couldn’t let Mark down, he felt as if he had already annoyed the man enough so he agreed and the crew left for the escape rooms.

The rest of the month carried on in a similar manor. Ethan would either be up unbelievably late editing videos or he would be up early in the morning to do it. He would go to Marks and they would do their videos and then he would leave and the cycle repeated. The only thing that changed through the month was Ethan. The videos were costing him ungodly sums of money that he just couldn’t afford, but he felt so in debt to Mark that he simply agreed to them. In an attempt to keep his heating, he had placed himself on a strict eating regime, limiting the food he was eating so that he wouldn’t run out, any spare money went to feeding Spencer. The lack of food made his body physically weaker and he could feel the tiredness pulling on him every second of every day. This meant that any spare time he might have in between filming and editing and exercising was spent sleeping, he couldn’t bring himself to film for his own channel, no matter how much he knew he needed to. As the month progressed, things just went downhill. Their most recent video had cost Ethan his heating bill. The boy had to rely solely on the warmth of layers and layers of sweatshirts to keep him from slipping into a cryogenic state. It didn’t exactly stop him from getting sick though. Most nights, Ethan fell asleep wrapped in Multiple blankets and countless sweatshirts with spencer tucked into his side, shivering a cold sweat. No one Noticed though. No one asked if he was Okay.

The month drew to a close and Ethan’s hope of getting back into a normal routine grew brighter. Pay day was coming up, and it was two months’ worth, which meant that he could pay his rent, buy proper food and by some medication for his cold. He had pushed through the past few agonising weeks simply by holding on to the notion that he would be fine once he got paid and now the day was so close, Ethan could practically feel his energy returning to him at the thought. It was all going to be okay… until it wasn’t.

Pay day was in 2 days and Ethan couldn’t stop thinking about it as the group huddled in marks living room, discussing video ideas over pizza. Mark and Amy were cuddled up with each other. Tyler and Seán sat together on the other couch. Ethan sat with Chica on the floor, savouring the sweet taste of the pizza they were eating. The contented smile that had settled on his face was quickly wiped off the minute Mark spoke.

“so, Eth….” Mark started, not even looking up from his pizza “ im sorry man, but we’ve had to cut your pay for this month again” His tone was so half hearted that Ethan had to do a double take to make sure that Mark wasn’t messing with him. But mark didn’t look like he was lying.

Ethan’s Mind stopped. _Again…no no no no no.. this can’t be happening. I-I won’t survive this month without that money_ … Ethan suppressed his panic, forcing himself to remain calm. “W-what about the other guys?” he asked gingerly.

Mark shared a glance with the rest of the team, none of them looked particularly concerned or regretful for Ethan, they rather looked quite contented. “Look man, Christmas is coming up and you get a higher pay than the rest of them because of your own channel and all, so it made more sense that you and I would be the ones who would take the hit because it wouldn’t affect us as badly.” His tone was sincere, as though he had thought this through as carefully as he possible could have.. but he hadn’t, Ethan wasn’t a millionaire like him, and sure, his channel made him a little bit of money (or used too) but most of his income came from Mark and the duo channel… it seemed that mark had forgotten that. But he couldn’t even bring himself to argue. Letting mark know his situation would put Tyler and Seán and Amy in the same position as him, Ethan knew how much they meant to Mark. He couldn’t do that to them, so he just nodded, biting back the panic that flooded him.

“just count yourself lucky, there a thousands of people out there who can’t even afford to feed themselves. Two little missed pay checks is hardly an issue”. _I can’t afford to feed myself_. He thought bitterly. Marks tone of voice wasn’t exactly helping the situation. Slowly, the conversation settled back into its usual swing and everyone began chatting about random things again. Once again, no one noticed the internal battle that Ethan was fighting with himself, no one noticed the occasional tears that streaked his face, no one noticed the light fading from his eyes.

It was December 21st when he lost the last security he had. He returned home after a long day of working with Mark, exhaustion was heavy in his bones. The kitchen was cold as ice but he didn’t mind, spencer was cuddled up with him on the floor, the two were just sitting in a peaceful silence, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. the only interruptions were made by his stomach growling. But he had gotten used to that over the weeks, any muscle that he had worked hard to get had all but disappeared, he could feel his ribs sticking out way more than he should. He could tell that nobody else had noticed though, he’d covered it up pretty well, always changing the video idea when it came to him needing to be shirtless and no one had questioned it.

The silence was broken by a harsh nock at the door. He groaned, gently pushing spencer off him, before standing up. His vision faltered slightly, the edges of his vision going dark and he reached a hand out to stabilise himself. The knocking continued. He stumbled his way to the front door only to find himself face to face with two police officers.

“Excuse me sir, are you Ethan Nestor?” The taller of the two cops asked, his eyes flipping over his clipboard. Ethan swallowed harshly.

“Y-yes that’s me” he cursed himself for stuttering. The police officer looked up, a bored expression on his face.

“Due to missed bills securing the ownership of this property, your Landlord has ordered the siege of this property, you are to be out of this building by 8AM tomorrow, no exceptions.” He finished, looking Ethan directly in the eyes. “that’s all” He turned and left, his partner close in tow.

Ethan closed the door, collapsing against it. He pulled his knees up to his chest, sobbing uncontrollably into his arms. _What the hell am I supposed to do now_? In truth, Ethan had no idea what do, he knew he couldn’t annoy Mark with his issues, the man already did so much for him. But he didn’t have any close friends in LA so he had nowhere else to go. His only option was to sleep in his car for a couple of days until his next pay check came through…if it came through. But what would he do with spencer? He fumbled for his phone, checking his current bank account. $127.73…nice. He sighed. He had just enough to put Spencer in a kennel and rent some storage for his stuff, but that was it, and that was at a stretch.

Ethan spent the whole night moving his belongings into a storage unit across town, making sure he kept a few necessities in his backpack. He moved spencer into a kennel around 6:AM, kissing the small dog on the nose one last time before facing the long walk back to his home because his stupid car had ran out of gas and he could pay for a refill. By 8Am he was stood outside his old empty home with nothing but the clothes on his back and his backpack with his laptop, phone charger, toothbrush, and a few snacks that he had manged to scavenge. A police car pulled up. The rest was a blur, all he knew was that he was officially homeless, he had nowhere to go. With a lump in his throat, he headed to marks.

It was 1PM. The duo had just wrapped up their first video of the day, Mark kept sparing small glances at Ethan through the video. The Normally hyperactive boy seemed to have barely any life left in him at all, and it scared mark. He decided that he should ask Ethan about it.

“Hey Eth? You alright?” he asked softly, forcing Ethan to stop what he was doing and look up at him. Mark felt his chest compress, the once vibrant greenish brown eyes that he loved so much, were now a dull gray. Not to mention the deep circles that lay underneath them.

“Yeah, im fine Mark” He replied, smiling like usual. Once again, Mark forgot all about his worry, of course he’s fine, why wouldn’t he be, probably just had a bad night.

“Alright, cheer up man, ITS NEARLY CHRISTMAS!” He exclaimed, Ethan laughed along with him. If only Mark had taken a moment to realise just how hollow the laugh really was.

Christmas eve arrived before they knew it. Ethan and Mark had agreed not to film on Christmas eve or Christmas, mainly because Mark was having guests over for the two days. It hurt Ethan that mark hadn’t thought to invite him, the older man knew that he wasn’t going home to family that year. _Maybe mark thought that I already had plans? Yeah right, he just doesn’t want you there_. He wiped a stray tear from his face as he wandered the streets. It was dark by now and Ethan was freezing. Snow had built up on his thin sweatshirt, seeping through the fabric tinting his skin a pale shade of blue. He shivered, desperate for any kind of warmth. Even in the dull dusk light, he could see his thin fingers turning a light purple color, that’s not good. Small tears dripped down his cheeks as he walked. How could this have happened to him. He was starving, freezing, alone, and to top it all off he lost spencer, he lost his _home_ …And it was Christmas. He sighed, eventually finding a small alley that seemed relatively sheltered. He shuffled into the furthest corner, sliding down onto the cold wet concreate and huddling into the smallest ball he could in a desperate attempt to maintain as much body heat as he could. He knew it was futile, even with fat and muscle on his bones he wouldn’t be able to produce enough heat to keep himself warm, but he didn’t have fat or muscle anymore so that just made the situation even worse. Eventually he settled down, resigning himself to the cold and fell asleep.

He was abruptly awoken on Christmas morning surrounded in snow with a knife to his throat. Fear struck him instantly and he sucked in a jagged breath as hands grabbed his hair and arms, pinning him to the wall behind him. Fear struck him and his breathing became laboured. His vision cleared enough to see his attackers, there was a few of them, maybe 4 or 5, he couldn’t think. He couldn’t even bring himself to move, it was like his entire body was made of ice. It would be futile anyway, they clearly weighed at least double his weight.

“What’s a pretty boy like you doin’ ou’ ‘ere all alone on Christmas, eh?” The one with the knife said, his voice was gruff, he definitely smoked and he was definitely drunk. Ethan kept his mouth shut, tears building up in the corner of his eyes but he pushed them away. “ I asked you a question boy!” He sneered, spitting everywhere. It was all Ethan could do not to vomit at the man’s foul breath. He whimpered as the knife dug into his neck. The first of the blood to be spilled that morning dripped down his neck.

“I-I d-don’t have a-anywhere to go” he stuttered out, somehow finding a reason to be ashamed even in such a dire position. One of the men just laughed, it was a cruel, merciless laugh that made the very hair on Ethan’s arms stand up.

“ya hear that boys! He don’t have nowhere to go” He laughed, Releasing the knife and backing away from Ethan’s trembling form. Ethan’s hair and arms were also released, but his relief was short lived when he noticed one of the men holding his backpack.

“w-wait no. don’t. i-I need that” he coughed out, weakly reaching for his bag but he was met rather painfully with a sharp kick to his ribs. He screamed, curling in on himself, tears dripping down his cheeks. It didn’t stop there. Within a matter of seconds, a wave of kicks and punches rained down on Ethan’s small form. He could do nothing but curl up in a ball, pulling his arms up to cover his head as they assault continued. An agonising crack echoed through the air as one of the men stomped on his already damaged rib cage. The pain was excruciating. The assault continued on, the vile sound of breaking bones echoed through the air as Ethan forced himself to remain conscious, screaming out for help until his throat was raw and throbbing. No one came.

After what felt like hours, the assault died down and Ethan was left alone, bleeding in the frigid snow. After a few failed attempts, Ethan managed to force himself into a sitting position. He clutched desperately at his injured ribs, trying to ease the pain. Nothing worked. His face was a mess, contorted in raw pain and stained with tears, and most likely blood too. He knew he couldn’t stay like this, he had to get help immediately. The first thing that came to mind was Mark. He had no choice this time, it was Mark or die. So, gathering all the strength he could muster, he pushed himself off the ground, gritting his teeth through the agony, and began stumbling his way to Marks.

Mark was enjoying his Christmas morning. He had a few friends and family stay the night and they had all shared presents in the morning before taking the dogs for a walk. It was quite pleasant. They were currently all sat cuddled up in the living room, chatting and playing numerous Christmas games, and mark never wanted the feeling to end. But, something also felt off, like someone was missing… Ethan. Mark realised that he had never asked Ethan to join them, the thought never even crossed his mind. The younger boy normally spends Christmas back in Portland so he hadn’t thought to ask, but now that he thought about it, he was sure that he had said that he wasn’t going home this time. An uneasy feeling washed over him. _Was Ethan alone on Christmas_? Just as he thought that, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it” mark informed before making his way to the door, laughing slightly at the joke that Amy had just made. He pulled the door open.

“Ethan! I was just about to ca-“ He stopped himself, the younger boy hadn’t looked up and he seemed to be shaking violently. “You alright man?” he asked, his tone worried.

Without warning, Ethan collapsed, falling forwards. Mark reacted quickly, catching the smaller boy’s body before he hit the ground suddenly alarmed by how little Ethan weighed.

“SHIT!” He fumbled to turn Ethan around In his arms. The poor boy was freezing, _had been outside in that cold with nothing but his sweatshirt and jeans?_. Tears formed in Marks eyes when he saw the state Ethan was in. Blood streaked his face and he could see bruises flowering up his neck, continuing under his sweatshirt. The boys lips were tinted a sickening blue and his eyes were sunken and dark. His clothes were soaked through and laden with rips and blood stains. “Fuck Ethan, what happened?” he whispered, manoeuvring himself to carry Ethan’s unconscious body through to the living room.

Everybody froze the minute Mark entered the living room. They took in the tear stains on Marks cheeks before their eyes settled on the seemingly lifeless body in Marks arms. Although they couldn’t see his face, they all knew who It was. The Christmas atmosphere that had been thick in the air all but vanished

“E-Ethan?” Amy whispered “Holy shit, Ethan!” She recovered from her shock quickly and rushed up to mark, taking one of Ethan’s cold hands in her own. No one moved for a moment.

“Mark” he took a deep breath, steadying herself “put him on the couch, I’ll go find some medical supplies” Mark complied. Tyler and Seán jumped off the couch taking the cushions with them, leaving a space for Ethan to lie.

“I’ll go get him some warm clothes” Tyler rushed off.

“I’ll make him something to eat” Seán headed for the kitchen.

Everyone else in the room remained frozen, their eyes trained on Ethan’s unconscious body. None of them had seen his injuries yet and everyone was equally confused as to what caused the boy to pass out until mark pulled the hood of Ethan’s sweatshirt of his head. Sadness and panic flooded the air. Amy returned, shortly followed by Tyler and Seán.

“Mark, can you help me remove his sweatshirt please” together mark and Amy removed Ethan’s sweatshirt. the two audibly gasped when his clothing was removed, horrified at the damage done to their little Ethan. Mark stumbled back slightly in shock, allowing the rest of the room a clear view of Ethan’s torso. To say everyone was absolutely horrified would be an understatement. Deep blue and purple bruises flowered over nearly every visible inch of skin, deep cuts littered his stomach and down his arms. Not to mention how thin he was. Mark nearly threw up at the sight. There was absolutely no way that the all of the damage was new, some of it had been ongoing for what looked like weeks, maybe even months. What the hell had been happening to Ethan? How hadn’t he noticed it? Thick tears rolled down everyone’s faces as they watched Amy treat Ethan’s wounds. The poor boy never stopped shaking.

After about an hour of patching up cuts and bruises, Amy stepped away, wiping her own tears. Tyler and Seán jumped into action, gently removing Ethan’s soaked jeans and underwear (it wasn’t like they had never seen him naked before) and began towling him down before re-dressing him in warm sweatpants and one of marks sweatshirts. The sweatshirt that was too small for mark practically pooled around Ethan’s frame. No one spoke a word, they just sat in silence and waited for Ethan to wake up.

A quite groaning brought everyone out of their silent state, their eyes shifting over to where Ethan was lying. The boy shifted slightly before his eyes fluttered open, a sharp hiss left his lips as the pain caught up to him. He curled in on himself, clenching is eyes shut and gripping onto his ribs as a wave of pain washed over him.

“Ethan? Oh god…Ethan” Mark was at his side in an instant, gripping gently into the smaller boys shoulders in an attempt to pry his arms away from his injuries.

“m-mark?” Ethan’s voice was small, weak and raw. Mark could instantly tell that the boy had been screaming but the fact that he was actually conscious enough to talk comforted Mark to no ends.

“yeah, it’s me buddy, you’re okay” Mark slowly took Ethan’s small frame into his arms, cradling Ethan to his chest. Ethan tensed at first but eventually he gave in and relaxed against Marks chest. Silence ensued. The rest of the room watched on as the two embraced. Ethan was the first to break away, still trembling. He took in the room around him , a confused look formed on his face.

“H-how long have I been out?” he whispered

“about 2 hours” Amy answered this time, sending Ethan a soft smile.

Tears formed in Ethan’s eyes _. Fuck, I messed up again, they’re gonna hate me_. An onslaught of hate filled his brain and small sobs wracked his frame as everyone watched on, unsure of how to react. “shit...i-im sorry Mark...i d-didn’t mean to ruin y-your Christmas…I k-know you didn’t want me here I just…i-I just didn’t know w-where else to go..” Ethan sobbed.

Marks heart broke at the sight of Ethan so upset and a ridged pain pierced him at the youngers words. _Did Ethan really think they didn’t want him there_. For a moment, mark was completely frozen. “Eth? Look at me” Ethan slowly raised his head but his gaze never fully met marks. “Ethan, I need you to know that I would never NEVER not want you here okay. You mean everything to me, you are so wonderful in so many ways and I never want you to feel like you’re not wanted because you 110% are!” Tears filled his own eyes as he spoke. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you, so I need you to tell me exactly what happened to you, so that I can make sure that it never happens again, okay?” he brought a gentle finger up to Ethan’s face, forcing the smaller boy to look him in the eye so he could see how sincere he was. “Can you tell me what happened? What were you doing outside in the cold with barely any clothes on?”

“i- I lost the house Mark” icy tears dripped down Ethans cheeks, his eyes a void of life. Mark sucked in a breath, confusion echoing over him.

“What?”

“I couldn’t pay the rent a-and they kicked me o-out. I-it happened four d-days ago” he sobbed, relief filling him, glad he was finally able to talk to someone about it.

Mark could hardly talk. Shock wrapped around him, closely ensued by an immense felling of guilt. Was this his fault, if he had just paid a little more attention to Ethan Instead of the channel… he couldn’t breath.

“im so sorry Ethan. I should have noticed sooner. Oi should have talked to you before I cut the pay. Fuck. I-i…”

“ ‘s okay. It was my fault, I should have told you, o-or focused more on my own channel so I could get pay..”

“No Ethan.” Marks tone left no room for argument “None of this is your fault. Just…in the future you come to me if ANYTHING is bothering you.” He paused, his watery eyes raking over Ethan’s abused body. “What happened to you Eth…”

And with that, Ethan broke down, explaining every little event that had led up to the loss of his home and the events of that morning. By the end of the talk, the room was filled with sobs and tears. Marks could hardly breath, the guilt of what he had caused Ethan because he hadn’t been thinking weighed heavily on him. But what had happened was in the past so all he could do was hold the boy close as he cried, whispering sweet nothings into his ear until he calmed down. Slowly, the Christmas spirit returned to the room and Ethan pushed the memories of the last few months to the back of his mind, just enough to be able to enjoy the delicious Christmas dinner that Mark had prepared. The group had settled back in the living room for some Christmas games when the door bust open. Ethan barely had time to react before he got a face full of fur and wagging tails.

“SPENCER!” he laughed as the small dog jumped around him, clearly exited to see his best friend again. Ethan glanced up, sending an overjoyed smile towards Seán, who had apparently snuck out at some point after Ethan had explained what he had done with spencer.

“Merry Christmas Ethan”


End file.
